Games of the Generation: 'Rock Band 2'

As we look forward to the release of the Xbox One and PS4 later this year, each week Digital Spy will look back at some of our favorite Xbox 360 and PS3 games of this generation. This week, Ben Lee remembers Rock Band 2.

The rhythm-action genre flourished and fell in the space of one generation.

Among the forefront of the movement was Harmonix's Rock Band, and it was the second entry of the series Rock Band 2 that stood out.

For the Boston-based developer, Guitar Hero on the PlayStation 2 was just the start. After ceding control of the franchise to Neversoft, they realized their ambitions to expand the genre beyond just fake guitars.

While Guitar Hero allowed players to fantasise being a rock legend, the collaborative nature and accessibility of Rock Band was perfect for parties.

With four parts available in a full band - lead guitarist, bassist, drummer and singer - people of all ages could join in the fun together.

You could play solo if you wanted to, and that certainly had its appeal with aims to five-star or gold-star songs, but there was something extra special about 'performing' with three others and playing some David Bowie.

That said, the original Rock Band was a little unpolished, and it wasn't until its sequel before the execution of the formula was nailed.

For instance, the streamlining and UI overhaul made it significantly easier to pick a song and set everything up.

The peripherals were also a marked improvement over the instruments packaged with the previous Rock Band, which felt cheap.

The drum set saw the biggest boost in quality - the four pads felt considerably more reliable and the bass pedal was sturdier. That meant wailing on the drums and hitting those fills were a lot more satisfying.

Rock Band 2 probably had one of the best soundtracks in a music game ever, covering a wonderful and eclectic range of rock. And with 84 songs (compared to Rock Band 1's 58 - all of which could be imported), there were bound to be a few songs that would appeal to you.

The likes of The Who, AC/DC and Bob Dylan represented the '60s and '70s - with Kansas's 'Carry On Wayward Son' and Fleetwood Mac's 'Go Your Own Way' appearing as well - while the 2000s featured Modest Mouse, Paramore and System of a Down.

Several Miley songs are available as DLC. We don't recommend licking the mic.

But the most impressive thing about Rock Band was its weekly downloadable content.

For 275 consecutive weeks (more than five years), starting in 2007 with the original Rock Band, Harmonix released a batch of new songs for players to add to their song library.

It is an incredible achievement, and the fact that there was an audience for this content who kept coming back week after week confirms the rising popularity of console DLC.

It was during the Rock Band 2 era when this run was most impressive. By the time Rock Band 3 came out, the weekly average number of new songs faded as resources were also spread across keyboard and Pro parts.

But on Rock Band 2, it wasn't uncommon to see eight, nine, ten songs - sometimes complete albums like the Pixies' Doolittle - launch on the same day.

With nearly 1,700 downloadable songs available, there really was something for practically everyone, from Jimi Hendrix and the Bee Gees to Radiohead, Carrie Underwood and Lady Gaga.

That's not even including Rock Band Network, an initiative set up to help artists submit their own songs for the Rock Band platform.

Harmonix clearly cared about the music, and they continued their vision in the form of Rock Band 3 by introducing Pro instruments designed to teach people how to play songs for real.

Rock Band 3 was arguably even more polished than its predecessor, but the neat addition of the keyboard was offset slightly by the fact that your library of Rock Band 2-era songs held less value if the keyboard was your thing.

It also didn't help that by that point, the genre had been over-saturated in part due to the yearly Guitar Hero releases.

But, regardless of whether you warmed to the plastic instruments or you were one of those who screamed 'learn to play a REAL instrument', the Rock Band series is one of the most important franchises on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

The future of the genre is certainly in question, but in a generation which saw online multiplayer dominate, Rock Band proved there is still a market for plain local fun.